Media self-regulation: the Norway way
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''The Independent Media Inquiry is in full swing and it's time for journalists, editors and media owners to become pro-active instead of reactive to suggestions of increased journalistic and media accountability in Australia.
When the media in Norway were faced with threats of media ethics legislation in the 1990s they opted to voluntarily suggest far-reaching reforms to the self-regulation system instead of lobbying against change.
The result was a major revamp of the equivalent to the Australian Press Council (APC), The Norwegian Press Complaints Commission (PFU). After negotiations with all stakeholders the PFU began receiving and handling ethics complaints in all media formats in 1996. In the interest of transparency and accountability the PFU meetings are now available as video on demand online - perhaps a source of inspiration for current and future Australian media regulators.''
Dr Johan Lidberg is Senior Lecturer at the School of Journalism, Australian and Indigenous Studies as Monash University. This article is a summary of his submission to the Independent Media Inquiry available online here.